Experimental study of the mechanical effect of a clayey soil by adding rubber powder for geotechnical applications

At present, worrying quantities of tires are discarded due to the growth in demand for vehicles in the world, which has a direct impact on the deterioration of the environment since they normally go to landfills. Based on the background found, the use of this material for geotechnical applications can help reduce the pollution they generate and improve the physical and mechanical properties of soils. Therefore, this research seeks to evaluate a greater shear strength and capacity of support to the penetration of the clayey soil by means of the addition of 1.5%, 2.5% and 3.5% of rubber powder recycled. For this, the Atterberg limits analysis, the modified proctor compaction test, shear box and CBR were performed. For the shear box test, the results reflect that the cohesion of the mixture increased and the angle of internal friction decreased with respect to the natural soil, resulting in the sum in an increase of shear strength. On the other hand, the percentage of CBR increased, this means that the rubber helped the soil to be more rigid and have a greater resistance to penetration. These mixtures could be used in different projects within geotechnical engineering, as it presents an improvement in shear strength and an acceptable support index value (CBR).